RIDE IT Wiltshire Sportive 2018

12/10/18 – This event is sold out, we are no longer accepting entries online and there will be no on the day entries available. We have limited venue capacity so please don’t turn up if you don’t already have an entry.

RIDE INTRO

A popular autumn event, our RIDE IT Wiltshire Sportive offers some spectacular riding in an area steeped in history. Taking place on Sunday 21st October and starting from Wiltshire College’s Lackham House we’re well placed to produce a fantastic route that explores the best of the northern part of the county. The ride is predominantly undulating countryside, but will of course throw up a few hills along the way. We’ll take in some of the best landmarks in the area, including the famous Wiltshire White Horses and Hackpen Hill. The Vale of Pewsey and the Marlborough Downs will provide an array of classic Southern English scenery, for what is set to be another great day of road cycling.

By Car – Access by car is only available via the main entrance on the A350 roundabout, please don’t use the venue post code in your sat nav as it will likely take you to the wrong place.

By Train – The nearest train station is at Chippenham, from there it’s approximately 3.5 miles to ride to the event centre heading past the hospital and through Rowden Hill.

By Bike – Unfortunately the main entrance isn’t well served by bike and we wouldn’t advise riding along the A350. If arriving by bike you can use the rear entrance from the direction of Reybridge on Mons Lane. Please note this entrances is only accessible by bike or on foot.

REGISTRATION & TIMINGS

Registration will be open from 8am to 10:00am but long route riders should aim to arrive, register and start before 9:30am. Please follow the signs for registration after you’ve arrived.

The are no specific start times per rider so you’re free to join a group and start when you’re ready within the following time slots –

Long and Medium Route Riders – anytime between 08:30 and 09:30.

Short and Fun Riders – anytime between 08:30 and 10:00

Please ensure you bring your helmet with you to registration, you will not be allowed to register without one so bringing it with you will save a trip back to your car or bike collect it.

Once you have registered and are ready to ride please head to the start area near the main entrance.

It’s important to be aware that the college campus closes at 5pm so all riders should plan to return and leave the site before then. If you start in one or the earlier start groups that should give you over 8 hours to complete the ride. If we don’t think you’re on track to complete by 5pm you may be advised to take a shorter route back or be collected by our sweeper van.

THE RIDES

There are a choice of 4 circular routes with distances ranging from 15 miles to 80 miles. The terrain is best described as undulating rather than mountainous with a few more challenging rises on the long loop extension whilst all the routes get the benefit of a downhill finish from Bewley Common.

After completing the route please head back through the finish timing point to register your finish time. If you don’t head through the timing point you won’t register a finish time and will show as a DNF when we publish the rider times.

ROUTE MARKING

For the duration of the ride you will be following pink signs (black arrow on a pick background), this is the same for all route distances. Where the different route distances split you will see route split signs telling you which way to go then you will continue to follow the same pink arrows.

You should see signs at every junction with the possible exception of dead ends/cul-de-sacs where they aren’t used on the route. If you reach a junction with no signs please check your map to see if you’ve missed a turning.

FEED STOPS

On the course there are a number of feed stops (how many depends on your route distance) and all food and drink at the feed stops is included in your entry. The feed stops are sponsored by High 5 Sports Nutrition and will have High 5 Energy Drink and High 5 Energy Gels or High 5 Energy Bars as well as selection of regular food such as cake, flapjack, jelly beans, bananas, peanuts, crisps, etc.

For advice on nutrition for before, during and after your ride click on the guide below from High 5 –

In addition Fresh Catering will be on site offering hot food and drinks for purchase both before and after the ride.

TIME CUT OFFS

Medium Route – For riders doing the medium route there will be time cut off at 13:00 at the second medium and short ride split point which is approximately 29 miles from the start. If you haven’t passed this point before the time cut off you will be diverted to finish following the short route.

Long Route – For riders doing the medium route there will be time cut off at 12:00 at the long and medium ride split point which is approximately 30 miles from the start. If you haven’t passed this point before the time cut off you will be diverted to finish following the medium route.

All Routes – The event centre is due to close at 5pm, riders who are behind schedule to complete before 5pm maybe collected by our sweeper van or diverted to take a short cut back.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS NOT A RACE

There are no rankings or prizes on offer, all times will be displayed in a non-sortable format in rider number order. Please help us to continue running popular and friendly events by not riding in such a way as to obstruct the road or upset other users.

The majority of the ride is on the public roads so please obey the Highway Code, stop at junctions where appropriate and obey any traffic lights. Do not ride at uncontrolled speeds around blind bends or on steep descents. Although we have event insurance it does not insure you for your actions so if you do hit a car or pedestrian you may be held responsible for any damages or injuries caused by your riding.

PLEASE LOOK OUT FOR HORSE RIDERS

The ride takes place on public roads and we don’t have exclusive use of these for the event. Please be look out for other road users particularly horse riders who may be using the lanes in this area. Make them aware of your presence and pass wide and slow should you encounter any. The leaflet below from the BHS gives lots of useful advice for both cyclists and horse riders and we would recommend all riders have a read through before the ride. Click on the image to download a pdf version of the leaflet.

INSURANCE

No one likes to think about things going wrong but accidents can happen and we think it’s important that riders understand their own responsibilities. All our events have public liability insurance in place that covers Evans Cycles and the actions of it’s staff, it doesn’t cover you for your own actions or for actions of other third parties. In simple terms that means if you cause an accident that is found to be your fault you are personally responsible for any injury to yourself or others and for any damage to yours of other peoples property. Sorry if that all sounds a bit heavy, we want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable ride so please ride sensibly, control your speed and don’t take unnecessary risks.

We recommend all riders have their own insurance arrangements in place to cover such accidents. If you ride regularly and are concerned about your own insurance cover you’ll find British Cycling or CTC membership can offer you some protection or we offer our own specialist cycle related insurance services – http://www.evanscyclesinsurance.com/

WEATHER & ROAD CONDITIONS

We’ll be keeping an eye on the weather over the coming days and whilst we are hoping for some fine and dry conditions this time of year can be very changeable and often even on dry bight days temperatures can be low early in the morning.

Most of the terrain is rolling Wiltshire Downs but there are some steeper descents where you can build up speed really quickly. We’re not trying to stop you having fun, we all love a blast down the hills, but remember the roads are shared with other traffic and you can’t always assume the road around the next corner is going to be clear.

Always keep alert and if riding in a group signal any hazards such as gravel, pot holes or obstructions to riders behind you.

We’ll be doing our final course inspection on Saturday so will update if we find any specific areas of caution.

MAPS & GPX FILES

All riders will be given a hard copy of the route map at registration. Please keep this with you, even if you’re using a GPS, as it has useful information such as emergency contact numbers and the location of the ride splits and feed stations.

Strava fans can check out the routes and segments here – Strava Routes

Everyone who has pre-entered will receive a pre-event mail on Thursday/Friday with links to the final GPS files. Whilst you’re welcome to download and view the provisional files we suggest you download the final version the day before the event just in case we have to make any last minute route diversions.

If you do not receive your pre event email please remember it will have been sent to the email address you used when booking the ride and do check it hasn’t been trapped in your junk emails folder. If you still don’t have it then email me on mark.gregory@evanscycles.com so I can check your entry and send you a copy.

RIDER TIMES & PHOTOGRAPHS

Your rider times will be published on our website 24-48 hours after the ride, once available you’ll find them via the Rider Times link at www.evanscycles.com/ride-it

Finish line photographs will be published on our Facebook page after the ride, you’ll find them at www.facebook.com/rideitcyclingevents. You can tag, share or download the photo’s directly from the Facebook gallery.

If you’d like to share any of your own pictures you can do so on Instagram or Facebook by tagging @rideitcyclingevents

QUESTIONS?

If you have any queries or questions relating to the ride that aren’t covered then please email rideit@evanscycles.com or get in contact with us via the facebook event page.

I am having trouble downloading the GPS files or PDFs, if I click on the link I get the response “This site can’t provide a secure connection app.box.com sent an invalid response.” I have tried using both Chrome and Edge browsers, same issue. Any ideas?

Hi David, It seems to work ok for me and we’ve not had anyone else raise the same issue. Any chance you’re trying to access the download site from behind a firewall? Some corporate networks may block access to filesharing sites.

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